Digipak

This is my digipak for my music video. I have used the guitarist from my music video, Sam as the front cover, with an image of the motorway as the back cover. I took some inspiration from other digipak's, while adding my own style to it too. I have used an orange and black effect on it too, which is something that i have used for my own effect.

Magazine Advert for the Kids Aren't Alright

I decided to have this as my magazine advert with the three images on the poster as it carries on the three stories that are portrayed in the music video itself. Having looked at the conventions of magazine adverts already the white and black text is something that fits into the idea of a rock band. It includes the key information that adverts include, such as the release date, the name of album and artist, the format it's available, record label and of course the website of the artist themselves. I decided against having an image of a band as part of the magazine advert, as i feel that my music video is one that will be remembered, so seeing this as an advert will remind people what music would be on the album in the first place. I have changed the colouring of the images too to add an eye grabbing effect. 

Practice Digipak

Practice Magazine Advert

This is my Practice magazine advert for a Lil Wayne album, i used this to portray the normal conventions of magazine adverts, as i had already analysed with the Janet Jackson magazine cover.

Digipak Sketch

Once again, my poor drawing skills were put into use to do a sketch for a digipak. I looked at conventions of digipaks, and from then went onto draw a practice one for sum 41.

Magazine Sketch

This was the practice sketch for my magazine advert, once again taking the main conventions of magazine adverts and putting them to paper.

Digipak Analysis

This is one of the early digipak's that were released by the Offspring. It's feature include:

• An image of the band
• Different Colours highlighting the titles of the digipak, including the band name, and name of album.
• A Tracklist on the back
• Barcode for Retail on the back
• The Record Label it was released on
• Name of the Artist on the Back
• Contrasting Colours between the back and front cover
• Black Box for the tracklist to make it stand out

This is another digipak from the Offspring, this digipark involves:

• It has an animated image on the front
• There's a box with the name of the Band in the Top Right-Hand corner
• There's a tracklist on the back
• Another animated Image on the back
• Barcode
• Record Label
• Title of the Album is along the bottom

Magazine Advert Analysis

The main conventions of an Advert are:

1. Name of Band/Artist and Album
2. Date of Album Release
3. Band/Artist image/ Style
4. Featuring Songs
5. Form of Release (CD Download)
6. Either Photograph of Artwork as main image
7. Record Company
8. Bands Website- Myspace/ Official Page
9. Critical Quotes, ratings
10. Set Colour Scheme

Band of Skulls- Fires

• Name of Band at the top
• Image of the album cover in the centre of the advert
• Album cover image is the background too
• Release Date Shown
• Website along the bottom
• Dark colours used with light writing
• Colours signify it could be part of the Rock Genre
• No image of the Band
• Colour links into the title of the single
• Title of the single is in italics so it makes it stand out
• 7" and Download

Discipline- Janet Jackson

• Title of the Album & Artist on the Arms of Janet Jackson
• Image of the Artist fills the middle of the image
• Info including Artist name, release date, record label, website etc on the black strip at the bottom
• Black and White Colour Scheme
• Focus is mainly on the artist in the middle of the poster
• Acclaims of the artist stated in the information
• Name in Bold
• Plain Background
• Portrait image so it would take up a whole page in a magazine, size of the her image is shown in this.

Shooting Schedule

Risk Assessment

As regards to risk in my Music Video, there wasn't a huge amount to be concerned about. When driving i had to make sure that i wasn't driving at high speeds, as well as the fact that i was driving at night i had to make sure headlights were on etc. The motorway bridge in egham provided the biggest challenge in terms of safety due to the fact there were low fences, so we had to make sure we were careful with the camera, as well as ourselves when we were looking over the edges of the bridge. When filming the "tramp" scene we had to place our camera in the middle of the road outside the co-op which was obviously a risk, however once one car had stopped it allowed us to film for a few seconds before allowing the car to proceed.

Lyrics to The Kid's Aren't Alright

When we were young the future was so bright
The old neighborhood was so alive
And every kid on the whole damn street
Was gonna make it big and not be beat

Now the neighborhood's cracked and torn
The kids are grown up but their lives are worn
How can one little street
Swallow so many lives

[Chorus]
Chances thrown
Nothing's free
Longing for what used to be
Still it's hard
Hard to see
Fragile lives, shattered dreams

Jamie had a chance, well she really did
Instead she dropped out and had a couple of kids
Mark still lives at home cause he's got no job
He just plays guitar and smokes a lot of pot

Jay committed suicide
Brandon OD'd and died
What the hell is going on
The cruelest dream, reality

[Chorus x2]
Chances thrown
Nothing's free
Longing for what used to be
Still it's hard
Hard to see
Fragile lives, shattered dreams
Chances thrown
Nothing's free
Longing for what used to be
Still it's hard
Hard to see
Fragile lives, shattered dreams


These are the lyrics to the song that I have chosen for my Music Video

Target Audience

Having looked at many videos of Rock Concerts, statistics of the demographics of Rock Fans, as well as going to Music Festivals myself, I have come to the conclusion that the target audience to my music video will consist of people mainly aged 12-30. The reason for this is the current punk-rock genre, such as the likes of blink-182, greenday and the Offspring all appear to be bands that appeal to teenagers as they're growing up due to the fact the songs relate to them, as well as their problems, also the fact the age of the members of these bands are similar to themselves too. In terms of social class the people it will fit in well with the people who are of working class, such as groups, E, D, and C2. Rock music doesn't tend to glamourise the musicians in such a way which is why it relates to people who are part of these social groups. In terms of a gender split it will be predominantly male fans with around a figure of 65% male and 35% female. Having seen the Offspring live, the audience were mainly male, with a few female fans there too.

Permissions

I Decided to ask the official Offspring page for permission to use the song, as this was an easy, as well as modern form of communication.

Location Shots

The Location of my music video will be shot around the Glebe Rd, and Church Rd area in Old Windsor, as well as around the co-operative, and at the m25 motorway bridge in Egham.

These locations were relatively ideal due to the fact that they are local. Filming at night time with limited light however was a challenge at certain points. But with friend's being able to drive as well it meant that we had more options in terms of where we filmed too.

Star Analysis

The Offspring having been signed as an artist since 1986, have been through many changes, however their popularity manages to communicate to the masses. Having appealed to arguably two generations, an ever changing appearance, as well as videos. Looking at the video to self esteem it's clear to see the lead singer, Dexter Holland has dreadlocks, and the video is a relatively dark video, with flashing lights, bordering on the conventions of a metal video. 

The Kids Aren't Alright video shows a change in appearance in the fact Dexter Holland is now brandishing  bleach blonde hair, as well as style of video in which is semi-narrative, featuring performance elements of it too. With the camera panning around the room in a dynamic video, it is evident to see why fans enjoy this video, as it is unique and breaks the normal conventions of some Rock Videos.

The video to the 2003 hit, Hit That is one that is one that appears to be a pioneer of the Rock Genre, as animated videos aren't really common for Rock videos, having previously been seen in Californiacation by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The change in appearance however can't be noted due to the lack of involvement of images of the band performing etc.

Kristy, Are You Doing Okay? is one of the more recent songs by The Offspring, it once again shows a change in image by lead singer Dexter Holland. The sound of the song is one that shows a large transition in sound of the band. Which could arguably attribute to the Offspring's success. By changing their sound and appearance, it appeals to a bigger market, although some "hardcore" fans may describe it as selling out.

Editing Analysis

The vcideo to All the Small Things follows a very similar editing technique to how i want my own video to work. It works to the speed of the lyrics, after every set of lyrics the camera cuts. This video uses fades, which isn't something that i really want to use within my own video as it won't work particularly well with the rhythm of the song itself as it is quite pacy. The lyrics are also in time with the guitar in mine, whereas this video has more of a relaxed feel to it.

Costumes for my Music Video

Thinking about costumes has been a tough decision making process in terms of my music video, but i feel that i've decided successfully.
For the main guitarist i have decided to dress him in dark clothes, with a dark t-shirt a baseball cap, and some baggy jeans with some big skating shoes. This is the typical look of the punk rock as seen in the picture of Blink-182's Tom Delonge.
 
The characters are being clothed in relation to their roles as characters. The character that Ollie Jordan plays is one who is a successful footballer, who succumbs to the problems of narcotics. While playing football Ollie is wearing some denim shorts with a white t-shirt, i felt that a more casual look would suit the surroundings he was in playing on a football court. When going to buy drugs, and using the purchased drug he is wearing a sporting type hoodie, with some tracksuit bottoms which shows that he is no longer the well dressed person he used to be, due to the drugs. When his final demise is seen when over dosing on pills he is seen to be wearing a hoodie which makes him look as if he has reached an all time low.

Ryan Lewin's character is one of a school child who deals with the loss of someone by turning to alcohol. He begins in a school uniform doing school work, with glasses on to reflect how intellectual he will is. When visiting the grave of the deceased character, he is still seen to be wearing smart clothes as his demise hasn't started. However through the duration of the video he gradually gets worse, starting by drinking on the streets in a dark coat, and tracksuit bottoms, eventually falling to the stage where he is homeless, accompanied by a navy beanie, and a sleeping bag to make him look more homeless.

My own character begins in a suit, which is stereotypical of a businessman. When being faced with the debts however he is seen in a t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms which is what would be expected of someone who is around his own house. He is wearing the same clothes when he is seen to be going to commit suicide, which i felt was fitting due to the fact that someone wouldn't be wearing a different outfit just because of the fact that they are committing suicide.

Costume Analysis

TheVideo to Better Off Dead by Sum 41 is one that displays casual costume on the members of the band. The performance of the video is in Casual clothing, the guitarists have black t-shirts on with Jeans, which is something that is worn quite often. I'm deciding to add a hat onto the guitarist in my video because I have seen it in plenty of other videos of the same genre, such as the Rock Show by Blink 182.


The video to the Kids Aren't Alright by the offspring shows the costume of the characters as they enter their decline, which reflects the stage in which they're at which is what i intend to do within my own video.

Destabalise- Enter Shikari- Textual Analysis

Enter Shikari are a Metal Band from Hertfordshire in England. They consist of 4 members, and aren't seen to fit into the "mainstream" genre. With hits such as "Sorry, You're not a Winner" and "Juggernauts" they have gained a large fanbase and have been critically acclaimed. They're video to destabalise generally fits into a performance based video. Set in a white room, it has many shots of the band performing they're song. There are a lot of amplifiers in the background brandishing the band's logo which isn't too uncommon in metal genres. With the lead singer jumping about a lot too, it shows that the song has a fast tempo, which is also shown by the speed of cuts.

 Enter Shikari's unique sound involves some electronic sounds too. When these are heard in the song, a effect is used on the video, such as distorting the appearance of a band member, also as the speed of the song changes, so does the speed of the video with time being sped up in faster parts of the song. This is the conceptual side of their music video.

 The clothing of the band is generally black, and looks similar to clothes worn everyday, this is typical of the metal genre, as it isn't displaying a huge amount of wealth by the band itself. The start of the video, also shows the band breaking into a facility which shows a sort of "stand" against the "man" which is seen in many videos of this type. The video generally fits many of the stereotypes of a 'metal' music video


ENTER SHIKARI - DESTABILISE (official promo video) from Brandon Lowe on Vimeo.

Forever feat. Kanye West, Lil' Wayne and Eminem- Drake- Textual Analysis

Drake is a Canadian Rapper who is currently one of the biggest rising rappers around at the moment, and is a figurehead in the current Hip-Hop movement, having huge hits such as "Find your Love" and "Over". Typically Drake has collaborated with other artists in his song forever, which is very stereotypical for the Rap genre. The video features snippets of people playing basketball which is a stereo typical sport which is often associated with Black people, this side story to the video, is promotional for the film "More than a Game" too which shows links between this video and other texts.

 The video involved a lot of lighting, as well as pyrotechnics which symbolises the fact they have lots of money, which the Rap Genre entails in alot of it's videos. Each different verse shows a different stereotype of the Rap Genre in. With Kanye West's verse is the verse with the large amounts of pyrotechnics, Lil Wayne's verse showing him being surrounded by Women, and Eminem's verse showing him being surrounded by men to show his strength. The Dark Blue lights appear to almost symbolise the rappers being in a club type environment.

 As well as this there is a large variety in the shots that are used, with Long Shots, Wide Shots and Close Ups used, this along with the fast cuts set the tone of the video. The clothing of the Drake and Eminem both show them having hooded clothing, which gives them an intimidating type of image, whereas Lil Wayne and Kanye West appear to be dressed in wealthy sort of manor which is typical of the Rap Genre as it shows their wealth.



Forever - Drake feat Lil Wayne,Eminem,Kany West from negroalboMR on Vimeo.

Busy- Olly Murs- Textual Analysis

Olly Murs the runner up in the Sixth Series of X-factor is arguably one of the competitions massive success stories, charting with hits such as "Please Don't let me go" and "Busy". His music video to Busy is an ideal choice for my analysis as i am keen to find out how different each genre's music videos are in comparison to each other. Murs fits more of less into the pop genre, but is also British so his music video could also take a spin on the regular conventions of a music video. The video portrays Olly in a backdated time around what could be guessed as the 1950's by going about his day to day events with his "girlfriend", while he performs.

Making the video a hybrid between a performance and narrative video. The interesting thing about his video is that his girlfriend is a doll, so when Murs goes about his day to day life with her he isn't doing anything particularly exciting with her, which relates to the lyrics of the song too. At the end of the video she is also brought to life using a real actress to portray her closing the curtains, which is key to the lyrics of the video too, as it could make the Artists image look strange, and distort the look he was going for.
The video briefly experiments with the notion of looking when there's close ups of an eye he is painting, as well as looking out the window at other couples, and what would be considered a normal relationship. The Mise-en-Scene is key in this video too, as it sets the scene of the time it is meant to be set in, without this sort of setting i think that it would be difficult to make the video work properly. Not only this but it doesn't indicate any sign of wealth and power of Murs, who is very aware of his background and where he came from, and gives him his "average joe" type image.


Olly Murs - Busy from Andrea Beat on Vimeo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYTQU4KvhJM&ob=av2e

Development of the Music Video

1920's- The Experimental Film

• Lack of Linear narrative
• Coneventions include: out of focus images, rapid editing and abstract techniques
• Today's experimental film is argued to be a genre in itself, with its own conventions.

1940-46- Soundies- US Juke Box

• 3 Minute Black and White film
• Located in Club, Bars and Restaurants.
• For the military the Juke Box was massive.

1960's- Scepitones

• Produced in France
• In Colour
• 36 types of music
• Unknown artists sang popular English Songs
• Had a low production standard

Andrew Goodwin's Theory relating to Music Videos

Andrew Goodwin's theory identifies many key features of music videos.
These features all include:
- A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
- A relationship between the sound and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
- Genre-related style and iconography present.
- Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist.
- Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females.
- Intertextual references to other media texts may be present.

He says that music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals and the song plus the artist. Relationships are built between these in the video, and the close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require. Voyeurism is used to increase the video’s attractiveness, particularly to males, whilst intertextuality is often employed in humorous videos.

Many of these features are present in all music videos, depending on the genre of the song and the aim of the record company/artist. For instance if an artist is well known they bring in the notion of looking with their music videos. I aim to challenge some of these points, however i definitely want to match the lyrics and sounds to the videos.

The Auteur Theory

The Auteur theory is a term used in film criticism to reflect the directors creative vision. The theory can be used in analysing music videos too. To become an Auteur is to be individually recognised throughout the film industry by having definitive and unique work.

The Main features of the Auteur theory include: The features of individual style, how texts are determined by artists creativity and how texts emerge as part of an artists bodywork.

Recognisable parts of the Auteur theory are Colour, Transition, Location, Actors and Use of absence of narrative.

Spike Jonze

Jonze is a well known Auteur within the music video industry and has worked on massive music videos such as OTIS, by Jay-Z and Kanye West, Weapon of Choice by FatBoy Slim, and Sabotage by the Beastie Boys.

Take Sabotage by the Beastie Boys, he makes the video as a parody of a 1970's cop show. With lots of fast cuts and different camera shots he manages to emulate the video in such a way that works with the music, as opposed to OTIS, it still continues with a theme which isn't a serious one. However, his style has evidently changed over the course of time between these two videos. As he has become a more distinguished Auteur he has obviously been used by World Famous artists more often, and for OTIS, the high amount of pyrotechnics as well as the modified car it shows he had a higher budget to work with.
You can see the difference in the two videos below, with the Beastie Boys evidently being shot on a lower budget, and OTIS being shot on a higher budget. His style in general is one that isn't that serious in his videos and allows the artists to have fun in what they're shooting.

Storyboards

Storyboard presntation

View more presentations from JacksonWild.

My drawing isn't completely exceptional, however these are the original ideas for my music video. I didn't storyboard the whole video, i just storyboarded the template of how the video will run.

Choice of Song/Genre

As it stands i've decided on using the track "The Kids aren't alright- The Offspring" it's a song which i feel like i will have a lot of creative freedom with. Being a band i have seen live i feel as if it is a lot easier to capture what they are about when putting together with the promoting tasks to go with the video. The video will be a narrative and performance based video, as i feel this will match the lyrics of the video best. Working on my own again will be a challenge, however i have decided that my cast for the video will involve friends who have decided to help these are

• Ryan Lewin
• Ollie Jordan
• Ricardo Leaman
• George Winter
• Myself

The filming will take place in locations all over Old Windsor, with the Co-Op, Recreation Ground, My Road, Church Road and the Cementary on Church Road being used. I have decided for the filming itself that i'm going to use Final Cut Pro to edit my Music Video because it's a software that i'm familiar with from my experience last year. The audience will be to the "outcasts" who feel that they're not mainstream as the video will be empathising with their possible situations, as the song will explore many key themes that cause problems to people today, these people tend to vary in age but mainly fitting from the 16-30 year old category.
My video will show the demise of 3 characters from having a very successful and promising future, to falling to the bottom of the bottom. One being a business man going to bring of suicide, another being a footballer falling into drug addiction and overdosing, the other being a successful school boy eventually spiralling to becoming a tramp. While this story is presented there will be cuts of a guitarist playing in the road at the same time.
My magazine advert will involve a shot of car on the motorway moving forward as this is one of the defining moments of my music video. The digipak will have images of substances because this is also another key feature involved within the music video.

Hello there.

Hi, I'm Jackson for As i did the opening to a thriller genre film.
For my a2 coursework i'm going to be focusing on a music video. Once again i'm working on my own, i chose to do this because it will give me the freedom of choice within what i do. I haven't chosen my artist and song i'm going to do yet, but i feel like i am swinging towards doing a video from the grime/rap genre of music, as the surrounding environment will fit in to this sort of genre. I enjoy a large amount of music however so i have a vast array of choice in what i'm going to do.